Ms. Hen reviews Fevre Dream

 

Fevre Dream

George R. R. Martin

WO & Shade LLC

1982

Ms. Hen decided to read this because she is still interested in vampires, and she has never read a book by this author. She was curious about his vampire novel. She was a little apprehensive about reading this, since it is a genre novel, and most of the time Ms. Hen does not like reading this type of novel. But she was not disappointed.

This novel is about a steamship captain, Abner Marsh, who becomes partners with Joshua York, and he does not know is a vampire at first. Marsh is struggling in his business, but York proposes that he build a large and beautiful steamship, and Marsh joins him. The Fevre Dream is built, and Marsh loves the ship from the first time he sees it. He dreams that it will be the envy of all the steamships on the Mississippi.

Joshua built the ship to live on, so he could have a place to hide while hunting other, evil, vampires. Joshua eventually explains to Abner that he developed a drink to help quench what he calls "the red thirst," that comes once a month. Other vampires appear who kill people and drink their blood, led by Damon Julian, an old vampire. The ship becomes a battleground of good and evil.

Ms. Hen was impressed by the history behind this novel. It is genre fiction, and there is a lot of action, but it is well researched, and the descriptions of the steamships and how they work is well done. Abner is a realistic character, and even though he was ugly and unkempt, Ms. Hen liked him because she thought he was the salt of the earth. The vampires are creepy and dangerous.

This novel reminds Ms. Hen of THE INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, because some of it is set in New Orleans, and it takes place around the same era. Ms. Hen found out this novel was published five years after that one, and she wondered how much it might have influenced FEVRE DREAM. Vampires are always in style, but they come and go in literature.

Some chickens appear in this novel, "The birds were making a terrible racket. Toby looked up when Marsh entered. The cook had been killing chickens. Three headless birds were piled up by his elbows, and a fourth was on a block in front of him, struggling fitfully." Ms. Hen thinks this scene parallels the whole novel. The vampires' victims are helpless beneath their wrath. And there is nothing they can do.

Ms. Hen enjoyed this novel. It is not a fast read, but rather a slow burn. The characters and places are fascinating, and it seems familiar, even though she had never read it before. A lot of gore appears in this, so it might not be for everyone, but Ms. Hen is a hen with a strong stomach. She enjoys reading about murder and death and disgusting things. Vampires are attractive to her, since they are mysterious and dangerous. Ms. Hen thirsts for danger, even though she mostly finds it simmering in a book.